This invention is a golfing equipment accessory, and more specifically a portable golf club stand.
Prior art that I know of includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,127,530 (Ortuno); 5,597,363 (Leote); Des 363,849 (Bruns); Des 400,612 (Rubin); Des 418,186 (Canterbury). U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,530 (Ortuno) appears to be the most relevant of these.
Ortuno discloses a portable golf club stand which includes a rod 4 to be stuck in the ground, the upper part of the rod including a U-shaped enclosure 14 to support the handles of one or more golf clubs as they stand on the ground. The enclosure 14 is folded back on the rod 6, forming a 180xc2x0 bight which straddles the upper rim of the golf bag when the device is not in use and stands in the golf bag with the clubs. The Ortuno device further includes a wind indicator flag.
If a player is using a golf cart, and especially when a single cart is used by two players, one player often has occasion to leave the cart to go to his ball in one area, such as the rough or woods on one side of the fairway, while the other player stays with the cart to go in another direction to his ball. The first player may need two or more clubs for this excursion, and so a golf club stand as mentioned above is a convenient device to keep those clubs upright, off the ground, dry, and visible. Visibility is a significant factor if the ball is in such a bad lie that the player leaves his clubs to search for it.
A golf club stand according to this invention is a single rod member which includes the following segments in series: a point at the lower end of the rod; a leg extending up from the point, a 180xc2x0 bend; an arm depending from the bend; a first lateral member extending from the depending arm; a loop at the end of the first lateral member; a second lateral member extending from the loop; an upright arm extending from the second lateral member; and a coil at the end of the upright arm. The 180xc2x0 bend between leg and arm forms a hook to hang the device on the upper rim of a golf bag, for storage.
The first and second lateral members are spring biased against each other by the loop to releasably hold a towel between them. The arms and said second lateral member together form a U-shaped enclosure to confine the handle of a standing golf club. The coil provides a temporary holder for a smoker""s pipe, cigar, cigarette, or the like. A club face cleaner brush is removably hung on the loop. The device further includes a bright light-reflective coating.